The Lake-Dwellings of Europe: Being the Rhind Lectures in Archæology for 1888Munro, Robert
History
The Lake-Dwellings of Europe: Being the Rhind Lectures in Archæology for 1888
Munro, Robert
Lake-dwellers and lake-dwellings -- Bibliography; Lake-dwellers and lake-dwellings -- Europe
From the abstract of Wilde's paper I find that among the osseous
remains the following animals were represented:--several varieties
of oxen, the pig (a smaller variety than is now bred in Ireland),
the horse, the ass, the common and fallow deer, the goat, _one skull
of the four-horned sheep_, a large species of the greyhound tribe,
probably the Irish wolf-dog, and the fox. A few bones of birds,
the shells of limpets and buccinums, and a large quantity of the
broken shells of hazel-nuts were also noted. Nearly in the centre
of the heap, and within 2 feet of the surface, were found two human
skeletons lying at length, and without any surrounding wood or stone
coffin. Owing to the prejudices of the peasants these bones had to be
re-interred. The report then goes on to say:--
"The antiquities found in this place may be divided into the warlike,
the culinary, and the ornamental. They consisted of _iron_ swords
of different lengths, with straight edges and angular points, and
bearing a resemblance to the ancient Roman swords. Very many knives
were found, of different shapes and sizes, with iron spear, javelin,
and dagger blades, and part of the boss or central ornament of a
shield; but _no brazen weapons_ of any description. Two querns, or
ancient corn-mills, were found on the marl, at the bottom of the
enclosure; sharpening-stones, iron chains, an iron axe, a brazen pot,
and three small brass bowls of most elegant shape and workmanship;
several articles precisely resembling miniature frying-pans, of about
three inches in diameter (perhaps incense-burners); circular discs of
turned bone, wood, and slate, like those supposed to have been used at
the end of the distaff; small shears, like the modern sheep-shears;
brazen, bone, and iron pins, from 4 to 6 inches in length, the former
of great beauty of construction; brooches, and parts of buckles,
containing pieces of enamel and mosaic work; bracelets; wooden
(yew-tree) combs, toothpicks, etwees, and other articles belonging to
the toilet. Several of these articles show an extraordinary state of
perfection of the arts at the period of their construction.
[Illustration: =Fig. 102.=--LAGORE. Carved Bone, showing some of the
designs real size.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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